February 21, 2014

Southern Cocktail Week: Diamondback No. 5

Garden & Gun (February/March 2014)

Feb. 1. 8:35 p.m. Cocktail #5Feeling: Hazy

This is where things start getting a little blurry.

We were excited about this Diamondback No. 5 because we've had a bottle of Root liquor burning a hole in our liquor cabinet for a long time. We really like its sassafras flavor, but it's a very strong flavor. So you never need very much of it.

Case in point: You only use it here to rinse the glass. Then you discard the excess liquid. (Which incidentally is fun to do in a party-trick kind of way. Or at least our guests thought it was neat. Pro tip: By the fifth cocktail, your guests will think anything is neat.)

This drink, by the way, is probably the priciest one we served at our party. The 375-ml bottle of chartreuse we bought was $30, and we used half of it for drinks for 8 people. Spendy!

Basically this is a twist on an Old Fashioned. It's really good, and the licorice-ness of both the Root and the chartreuse are a great accompaniment to the rye and the apple brandy.

At this point, a couple of our friends had to peel off to go to a birthday party. We were sorry to see them go, but hey, more for the rest of us.

Combine rye, brandy, and Chartreuse in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Rinse a chilled rocks glass with Root liqueur, discarding excess. Place a sugar cube in the glass with a splash of water, and muddle. Strain in rye mixture and garnish with a large swath of lemon peel.

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Southern Cocktail Week: Diamondback No. 5

Garden & Gun (February/March 2014)

Feb. 1. 8:35 p.m. Cocktail #5Feeling: Hazy

This is where things start getting a little blurry.

We were excited about this Diamondback No. 5 because we've had a bottle of Root liquor burning a hole in our liquor cabinet for a long time. We really like its sassafras flavor, but it's a very strong flavor. So you never need very much of it.

Case in point: You only use it here to rinse the glass. Then you discard the excess liquid. (Which incidentally is fun to do in a party-trick kind of way. Or at least our guests thought it was neat. Pro tip: By the fifth cocktail, your guests will think anything is neat.)

This drink, by the way, is probably the priciest one we served at our party. The 375-ml bottle of chartreuse we bought was $30, and we used half of it for drinks for 8 people. Spendy!

Basically this is a twist on an Old Fashioned. It's really good, and the licorice-ness of both the Root and the chartreuse are a great accompaniment to the rye and the apple brandy.

At this point, a couple of our friends had to peel off to go to a birthday party. We were sorry to see them go, but hey, more for the rest of us.